Fertilizers, Pesticides, which one how often?

[milan360]

Hi Friends,

I'm new to orchids and have a separate post a couple of days back titled 'Phalaenopsis Help for an amateur'.

Now I've got 2 orchids, the phal above which is barely surviving as well as a newer dendrobrium which seems to be thriving from my gradual increase in knowledge about orchid care.

I have some questions and would be grateful if some light would be shed on my ignorance:

1) What is the difference between orchid pesticide, fertilizers and this thing which I bought yesterday in a bid to save my dying Phal? (refer to pic - fert 1 & 2)

2) How often do I use them?
is it advisable to zap a few sprays of my (environmentally friendly) pesticide at the base of my dendrobium every few days should i see those really tiny mites appear? I saw a couple of them recently.

3) This growth hormone supplement - is it even mean to be used on healthy plants? How does it differ from fertilizers?

4) What would be a recommended schedule for fertilizing orchids? I'm watering my dendro about every 5 days. It's one of those small to medium sized ones that sit on your table.


Thank you for the help that's coming in.

best regards,

Milan360